Barbara Reid

In 1977, Barbara Reid prayed to the Blessed Mother to give her a Catholic Church to attend with her family. She tried out all the Masses at St. Matthew to see which one she liked, and always sat in the back. She then moved to the middle of the church, still on the St. Joseph side. Soon she felt drawn to the Blessed Mother side where she believes Mary led her to the fourth pew.

“I first met Faye Perry, Linda Murphy, Rosie Douglass and Grace Byerly. It was their welcome that made me feel a little more at home.” She continued to pray for more of that feeling of belonging. More African Americans were attending Mass, and in Barbara’s experience, not all St. Matthew parishioners were as welcoming.

As time went by, Barbara experienced a change of heart with those who seemed unwilling to receive her. The Holy Spirit and the Blessed Mother led her, during the Sign of Peace, to express love for one particular gentleman, and others, with a big hug. She sat at Mass with Eunice Orange and says that “Eunice’s family is my extended family…another reason I’m still a church member.”

The feeling of truly belonging to a church family came for Barbara during the most difficult times in her life. “We were shown such love and compassion when my husband and son passed away. It was then I realized how God sends what you need to get you through life’s challenges.”

In time, Barbara taught CCD and RCIA for adults, joined the Liturgy Committee, and became especially close to those with whom she worked in the St. Vincent de Paul Society – Mickey and Dick Hallinger, John Hearn, Priscilla Mitchell, Ed Sommerfeldt, and Ramon Thompson. She is now an active member of the Sodality and a Eucharistic Minister. “These are precious times for me and I hope for the people I touched.”

RCIA

(This is an expanded version of the story in our anniversary book).

When Jackie Said began searching for a church home, she visited St. Matthew and was impressed with Fr. Joe and felt welcomed by many members.

Jackie’s family is a blend of faiths and backgrounds, and so the multi-cultural pride and the “all are welcome” message of our community was essential. “I grew up Protestant and attended Catholic schools. My husband and daughter are Muslim, and our family is open to all faiths.” Jackie chose the RCIA program at St. Matthew to begin her faith development journey.

Jackie enjoyed her experience with RCIA, also known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, at St. Matthew Church. Jackie had so many wonderful things to say about her RCIA journey and about those who were in RCIA with her: The group was phenomenal, excellent. I looked forward to RCIA each week. We felt good about coming together. We felt safe and we learned. We were sad it ended. We feel a connection that we will have forever. We bonded and we had a great experience.

Years earlier, Mychelle Farmer was a RCIA participant when Rosie Douglas and Alfred Li-Young led the effort. “It was lots of work, but we encouraged each other.”

Besides orienting candidates to essential elements of church teachings, Rosie encouraged RCIA candidates to become active members of the St. Matthew community. Says Mychelle, “I know that three [of our class] became altar servers and at least one is a Eucharistic Minister.”

Sr. Andre, a Comboni Missionary Sister, took on the leadership of RCIA in 2007. “The RCIA experience gives candidates an opportunity to reflect on the many challenges of daily life and to find ways to improve the communities in which they live and work,” she explains.

“St. Daniel Comboni was a great missionary, sharing God’s message of hope and love to all. With RCIA I can show God’s love, so candidates know we are all children in God’s universal family.”

Wannetta Thompson

“I was waiting for the congregation to march us out the side door,” came the words from Wannetta Thompson, the founding director of our Gospel Choir.

Wannetta, a Christian raised in the Baptist and Pentecostal Holiness faith, came to St. Matthew in the late 1970s with her husband, Ramon, a practicing Catholic. They shared their time between St. Matthew and her church, United Baptist. She wanted to understand the faith better when she decided to raise her children Catholic.

“I attended RCIA led by Sr. Mary Beane to educate myself.” It was while attending the RCIA meetings that Sr. Mary learned of her gospel musical background. It was Sr. Mary’s dream to have a gospel choir, led by Wannetta, who had led choirs since she was 11 years old.

In 1990, parishioners started talking about forming a gospel choir. Sue Rovnak, a Parish Council member, exclaimed that “it will be done!” Others like Carolyn Grayson and Ed and Nikki Sommerfeldt also encouraged the formation of the choir. With the help of Wannetta’s cousin, Howard “Stubby” Smith, a well-known pianist and organist in Baltimore, the choir was formed. Sr. Mary’s dream became a reality in 1991.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a week that went by without someone commenting, “go back to your church.” And in response, Wannetta would say to herself, “God told me that this is where I’m supposed to be, and I believe in being obedient to God’s direction.”

When she speaks of Gospel music, there is such joy in her voice. “Gospel music is supposed to touch the heart, mind and soul. It reminds you that God is there for you, always has a message and is easy to remember, like Jesus Christ is the Way.”

In December of 2014, Wannetta stepped down as choir director. “God was leading me to start my own ministry.” she explained. She went on to say, “St. Matthew will always be my home.” Shortly after, she started her own ministry “Sharing the Word”.

Our Gospel Choir continues its ministry under the leadership of Patty Delisle and thrives today, singing on the third Sunday of each month and during the Sacred Liturgical Seasons.